SLOE GIN...............MMmmmmm...!
However, I have two questions
1) Can I get frozen sloes rather then go out into the countryside and try and identify a sloe and then have to pick them if I am lucky enough to find them in the first place.
Yes I am a townie!
2) If you have an any excellent recipies out there I am more then happy to accept them ????
3) I have just been told that you can make it with VODKA, which is very palletable, just thought I would share that with you!
Answers: I would like to make some SLOE GIN, I have a great recipy from my uncle, and want to get cracking.
However, I have two questions
1) Can I get frozen sloes rather then go out into the countryside and try and identify a sloe and then have to pick them if I am lucky enough to find them in the first place.
Yes I am a townie!
2) If you have an any excellent recipies out there I am more then happy to accept them ????
3) I have just been told that you can make it with VODKA, which is very palletable, just thought I would share that with you!
I've made sloe gin (and sloe vodka, and lemon vodka...) for years. Wonderful stuff!
You'll find it hard to get frozen sloes -- they're not really sold in shops. And as the previous answerer said, they're not in season now: any still remaining will be wizened and manky.
Still, next season comes round fast enough: stockpile your gin or vodka from holiday travels and look out now and over the next few weeks for blackthorn bushes in flower (sloes are the fruit of the blackthorn). Depending on where you live, you'll find these hedge trees in parks and by allotment edges. They flower now, simple white blossom on very dark wood, with no leaves showing yet.
(I'll find you a picture)...
Blackthorn blossom: http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/cheshire...
Sloes: http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/tomsharp/newe...
Just remember where they are, because good sloes get picked quickly once they're ripe (as early as late August here in SE England, despite old tales about waiting till the first frost). They're about the size of an olive, with a vivid blue bloom that vanishes once they've been handled, so they then look black.
Wash them, weigh them into 1lb bags, and bung 'em in the freezer for two days or till you're ready for them. This bursts their skins, which lets the juice out. The alternative (traditional) method is to prick each one with a blackthorn thorn... I ask you!
Then all you have to do is bung them into a wide-necked jar (Kilners do very well), add gin or vodka, plus sugar.
1lb of sloes and 8oz sugar to 1 pint of gin/vodka.
Shake daily for the first fortnight -- it'll start to look like Ribena from about day three -- then leave it alone for 3 months at least (I'd really recommend 6 months, and it keeps getting better for 2 years.) Strain it through coffee filters and enjoy!
The recipe above is pretty standard but excellent none the less. My variation is that I use honey instead of sugar -- yes, I'm biased, 'cause I'm a beekeeper, but it has won awards so you might think it worth trying out... =D
(Neat is terrific in winter; with tonic and ice is lovely in summer.)
Cheers!
Nasty stuff. My advice is to stay away from it.
sloe gin is really good. i never had it homemade....or with vodka.
i didnt know you could make it. how does one obtain sloe? what is it anyway?
i have found only one source for these blackthorne berries. http://cgi.ebay.com/1lb-Fresh-NORFOLK-Sl...
it appears that the season for them is done...they are typically harvested in sept-oct. the best bet is to grow your own sloe berry bush